Destroy You (Destroy #3) (3 page)

Jeremy shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. Now go find something to wear that will have me beating the shit out of someone when they get disrespectful by the end of the night.”

“You’re really weird, you know that, right?” I asked on my way back to my room. Honestly, if I couldn’t sit and pig out in comfortable clothes, getting completely shit-faced sounded like the next-best option.

Jeremy didn’t fight me when I came out of my room wearing a pair of my favorite jeans and a tank top. I really wasn’t in the mood to strut my, uh, assets for men at the moment.

My bitter mood was momentarily lifted when we walked into the bar and Jeremy led me to our friends. Aiden, my best friend Becca’s husband and Jeremy’s childhood best friend, rose to greet me. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a quick squeeze, and I fought the urge to melt into the comfort he offered and cry. Becca found the love of her life when she met Aiden, and I found myself with two guys who had become like brothers to me.

I hadn’t given the dirty details about my breakup to Jeremy, but he’d obviously spilled his suspicions to our friends. It wasn’t hard for him to guess what happened after I returned home early and pissed off. Add the yo-yo history I’d had with Miguel, and it was easy to figure out.

Becca was eight months pregnant with her first child and struggled to get out of her chair. I shook my head at her. “Don’t get up, silly. Why are you even here? This can’t be the most comfortable place for you. Not to mention how loud it is,” I admonished.

“Like I’d miss my best friend’s twenty-first birthday,” she scoffed.

Aiden pulled out a chair for me next to Becca and took the one on her other side. I looked around the table and noticed a few places were still open. “Where’s Kate?” I asked.

“She’ll be here after she changes. She just got off work a little bit ago,” Cameron, Kate’s twin brother, announced as he approached the table. “Happy birthday, Demon.” He kissed me on the cheek.

Jeremy looked in the other direction when Cameron sat down. They were both trying a little too hard to look unaffected by the other’s presence.

The arrival of Reed distracted from the growing tension at the table. We were all a bit obsessed with him because he was our personal superhero. Not only did he find Becca after she was abducted, but he took a bullet from Aiden’s psycho ex-girlfriend while protecting Aiden and Becca. All of that bravery was wrapped up in a tall, broad-shouldered, thickly muscled package. It was no surprise that my super-reserved other best friend, Kate, had a thing for the sexy detective. Hell, if she hadn’t seen him first, maybe I’d have made a play for him. Not that it would have done me any good, because anyone with eyes could tell he was sprung on Kate.

Kate slipped through the crowd toward us, and Reed never looked away. He seemed to have the same protective urges Aiden had for Becca, only Reed wasn’t free to act on his. I didn’t envy him. Kate was very guarded. I wasn’t sure she would ever let go of whatever was holding her back from those of us that loved her.

Having everyone show up to my birthday made me hope Jeremy would drop his plans of getting me drunk and making me relive the Miguel disaster. I should have known better. Jeremy is like a dog with a bone when he wants to know something.

Jeremy returned from the bar with several shot glasses and set down two of them in front of me. “You know what they say about tequila,” he began.

“It makes your clothes fall off?” I asked, confused. No way Jeremy wanted to see me naked.

He rolled his eyes at me. “I thought it made you talk. Whatever, drink it and start spilling.”

I wrapped my arms around my chest and glared at him. Jeremy nudged one of the shots closer. “Fine, but it’s going to take more than two shots to make me spill my guts.” I tipped back both of them quickly.

I looked around for the limes but didn’t find one. How could he forget how to do a tequila shot? Then I saw the slice of lime in his mouth. Jeremy waggled his eyebrows at me. It was my turn to roll my eyes. He liked being provocative. It didn’t matter that my lips on his didn’t do it for him. We’d tried a few times. It was weird, because Jeremy was smoking hot and a fantastic kisser, but kissing him did nothing for me except make me question my sexuality. I mean, if I couldn’t get into kissing Jer, I had to be a lesbian, right?

As it turned out, it was only because of my feelings for him. Kissing Jeremy was about as erotic for me as kissing one of my cousins. Hot or not, Jeremy was firmly in the friends-and-family zone.

He waggled his eyebrows. It was a challenge he didn’t think I’d accept. Dumbass. I grabbed his shirt and used my teeth to take the lime wedge from his mouth, then shoved him back and licked the remnants of alcohol and citrus off my lips.

Cameron got up and stormed away from the table. Jeremy dropped his head back as we all stared at him. “I’m getting really sick of his shit,” he muttered. “I mean, fuck! He’s banging some chick from his apartment complex.”

Kate laid her hand on Jeremy’s. “I’m sorry, Jeremy. You are exactly what I want for him, but Cameron has demons.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to exorcise them for him.” Jeremy turned to face me, and I smiled. “Toni, I…”

“Go after him,” I encouraged.

“I’m so sick of this shit,” he said under his breath.

I bumped my shoulder against his. “I know, but he’s under your skin. Don’t go for him, go for you.”

Jeremy stood and kissed me on the cheek. “I love you, Pixie. Happy birthday,” he whispered.

Kate was fading fast. She worked twelve-hour shifts and still came out to celebrate my birthday. It was no wonder why I loved these people. “You, too. Go home,” I demanded.

“No. I can…” She yawned. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure. Thanks for coming, but I want you to go home and sleep,” I reassured her.

“Where did you park?” Reed asked. He was back in protector mode.

“I, uh, walked?” Kate winced when Reed and Aiden both looked at her, shocked.

Reed stood instantly. “I’ll take you home. You shouldn’t be walking alone at night.”

“I’d argue with you, but I’m tired. I’d love a ride home. Thank you.”

Becca turned to me with her concerned look. Dammit, I did not dodge talking about Miguel with Jeremy only to have to go through it with Becca. She was around in the beginning when I still cried over problems with Miguel, so she knew more about it than anyone else. I didn’t want her concern or her pity. I only wanted to drink this night away.

I waved at the bartender, who incidentally looked like sex on legs, and pretended to know him. I then turned to Becca and Aiden again, prepared to lie my ass off. “Hey, guys, I see a friend at the bar. Why don’t the two of you go ahead and go? It’s loud in here. That can’t be good for the baby.”

Aiden seemed determined to stay with me. His need to protect Becca extended to everyone she cared about. As a result, he’d become like a big brother to me. But I knew the second I mentioned the baby, he would relent and take Becca home.

“Call if you need a ride,” he insisted.

“Promise,” I said, even though I had no intention of calling him back out.

Becca’s lip quivered. “But it’s your birthday. I suck. I’m a horrible friend.” Her moods were unpredictable since she’d gotten pregnant. It was also getting late, which made her more likely be tired and ready to cry.

“You don’t suck. Now go home and rest so my nephew doesn’t have to hear this awful music,” I demanded. Seriously, why did anyone like music made after 2000? Becca hugged me tight until Aiden interceded and practically dragged her out of the bar.

It felt weird sitting at the large table alone, so I moved to the bar. I sat at the end and scrolled through my phone while I waited to order a drink. I had several missed calls from Miguel and even more text messages. I shoved my phone back in my pocket. I wasn’t in the mood for his excuses.

I looked up and landed on a curious pair of gray eyes.

“Tequila, right?”

My voice disappeared. I nodded, and he placed a shot in front of me with a wedge of lime. I reached for my card, and he waved me away.

“Your boyfriend told me it was your birthday,” he said. He knew I was legal because the bouncer checks everyone’s ID at the door.

My brows furrowed in confusion, and I looked around me, trying to figure out who he thought I was with. “What boyfriend?” I asked when I didn’t see anyone standing too close to me.

“The guy buying your drinks earlier,” he reminded me.

I was used to being around our friends who would never assume Jeremy and I were together. I smirked, thinking about how we probably did look like we were a couple to people who didn’t know Jeremy was gay.

I didn’t want this guy to think I had a boyfriend, though. “He isn’t my boyfriend,” I replied.

He smiled, and my eyes were drawn to a small silver ring in the corner of his bottom lip. I never thought I’d find facial piercings sexy before, but his plump lips were made more masculine with that small piece of metal.

“Well, Birthday Girl, what are you doing all alone tonight?” he asked.

“I’m afraid the answer to that question is going to require a lot more tequila,” I evaded.

He set another shot in front of me and opened his mouth to say something, but someone shouting for his attention down the bar interrupted him. It wasn’t like he was the only one working or that the bar was that busy. It was the summer, and most of the regular customers were at home for the break.

“We aren’t done,” he said before walking away.

I took the opportunity to study him while his attention was on another customer. He was tall, like maybe six foot one or two, shorter than Aiden and Reed but close to Jeremy’s height. His dark hair was cut close to his head.

He moved with leonine grace. His muscles pulled and tugged against the soft-looking fabric of his black T-shirt. His jeans were a relaxed fit, not the disgusting, overly tight style that was unfortunately the trend for guys now. Even so, his firm ass and rock-hard thighs were perfectly showcased in the faded blue material.

After assisting a few more customers, he started to work his way back down the bar. I felt like I was taking him away from his job and stood to say good-bye once he made it back to me.

“You aren’t leaving already, are you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “My friends are gone, and I realized I haven’t eaten dinner. Drinking more probably isn’t a good idea.”

Irritation flashed in his stormy eyes. “No one took you to dinner on your birthday?”

“I was supposed to go with my boyfriend,” I began. His expression fell a little, and I rushed to continue. “But that was before I caught him screwing someone else when I showed up at his house. It’s been a horrible day.”

“Let me take you to dinner,” he offered.

I checked my watch. “Now? It’s late.”

“There’s a twenty-four hour diner that doesn’t suck. I promise the food’s better than I made it sound.”

“I don’t even know your name,” I argued.

He held his hand out to me. “Trent McKenzie.”

I took it. “Antonia Padilla, but everyone calls me Toni.”

“Now can I take you to dinner?” he asked.

I looked around the bar. “Aren’t you working?” It still had a decent amount of customers, but they did have two other bartenders behind the bar and some waitstaff out on the floor.

He set down the bar rag he was holding on the counter. “As it happens, I just got off work. Lucky, huh?”

If one of the guys were here, they would try to run a background check on him before I could even say two words to him. They weren’t wrong, though, and no matter how sexy the guy was, I wasn’t about to get into a stranger’s car.

“Where is this place? No offense, but I’m not getting in your car,” I said.

Trent rolled his lip ring with his teeth, looking like he was trying to keep from laughing. “It’s down the block. We can walk.”

“Okay, then. I’ll have dinner with you.”

We were stopped several times as we made our way through the bar, mostly by women. They batted their overly made-up eyes and shoved their breasts forward in an effort to steal his attention from me. I was irritated, but I didn’t show it. I’d just met him, and I knew well enough that a dinner invite wasn’t a commitment. Hell, a commitment didn’t seem to prevent a guy from getting his rocks off with any willing slut, either.

“Sorry about that,” Trent said as soon as we were outside. “The women that come into the bar think they know me, and they get a little possessive.”

“That probably gets irritating.” At least it would irritate the shit out of me if dinner turned into something more.

“C’mon, the diner is just around the corner.” Trent placed his hand on the small of my back and led me down the block.

“Trent! Trent! Wait,” a girl shouted as she ran toward him.

His hand tensed against my back. He didn’t need to say anything. I knew I was about to be left for another girl for the second time in the same day. Happy freakin’ birthday to me! It was definitely time to go home, pull the covers over my head, and pretend this day never happened.

The girl, and she was a girl at maybe eighteen or nineteen years old tops, caught up to us. She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. Unlike how he was with the women inside the bar, this time he didn’t discourage her attention. She was beautiful, in a waifish kind of way. Her hair was brown with random highlights that were nearly orange and hung in loose, deconstructed waves under a knit hat. She had on a little bit of makeup and only to accent her honey-colored eyes. She was dressed like a Seattle hipster with baggy shorts over tight stretch pants. The entire look was completed with a T-shirt advertising an obscure band, and a men’s flannel shirt. She even had a nose ring that flattered her perfect button nose.